Headlines
What will your Social Security be 10 years from now?

In the fall of every year, media stories abound about how Social Security benefits will go up next year, thanks to the annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). It’s almost always framed as good news, rightfully so, because how could…
Is Biden’s Social Security Reform Plan Fatally Flawed? Pundits say “yes”

Social Security, America’s premier anti-poverty program, helps about 90% of beneficiaries pay their monthly living expenses. So is it any wonder that news of the program’s potential insolvency in about 10 years grabs nearly everyone’s attention? Obviously not, to include…
House Ways & Means Set to Address WEP/GPO Concerns

House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) yesterday announced a field hearing scheduled for Monday, November 20 at 2:00 pm CST (3:00 EST) to receive public commentary on attitudes and viewpoints concerning the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and…
FRA Setbacks, Means Testing, and the Inevitability of Tax Increases–One Viewpoint

In a follow-on to last week’s GOP Presidential Candidate Debate, and after considering suggestions put forth by candidates Nikki Haley and Chris Christie regarding adjustments to the full retirement age and incorporating additional means testing into the benefit formulas, financial writer…
Understanding Your Return on Investment in Social Security and Medicare

Many folks who have spent decades in the workforce, paying the Federal Income Contributions Tax (FICA) all those years, wonder if they’ll live long enough to fully recoup those dollars paid into the system. It’s a concern we hear often…
Long-Term Debt and Social Security Reform: Yes, There is a Relationship.

The mind-boggling gap between federal revenue and federal spending–pegged at $1.7 trillion for 2023–and the resultant nearly doubling of the year-over-year federal budget deficit is the subject of an analysis by University of Maryland professor Melissa Kearney and former U.S.…
Means Testing for Social Security…Where do the Republican Candidates Stand?

By now, anyone who’s been paying attention to Social Security’s steadily deteriorating financial position is keenly aware of the long-term implications of Congress taking no corrective action. Many suggestions for program restructuring have been put forth by a number of…
The clock is ticking for Congress

According to American writer Jack Kornfield, “The trouble is you think you have time.” The reality is we do not. Congress has until 2033 to come to a bipartisan agreement about Social Security, or there will be an automatic cut…
What the five GOP candidates said about raising the retirement age

During the 3rd Republican candidates’ debate, the third rail of American politics – Social Security- was discussed. The difference in the approach of the five attending candidates in solving the Social Security and Medicare insolvency issue was on display. The…
There’s more to consider when deciding to begin your Social Security benefits

Social Security is a primary income source for most people aged 65 and older. Without Social Security benefits, 37.7 percent of older adults would have incomes below the poverty line. Social Security is the cornerstone of many retirees’ income, so…